Patio on Fire 2016: Recap

On Friday, October 7, 2016, KIS’s traditional Patio on Fire was brought to life once again! This year’s Patio on Fire was the biggest one yet, with more performers and audience members than ever before. Students, teachers, and even alumni all received the chance to enjoy brilliant performances by many of KIS’s musicians, and there were some new faces in the crowd as well. There was also an extreme amount of food and drinks to munch on while listening to all of the singing and rapping that was going on. If you missed this year’s event, don’t worry; here’s a recap of what went on at the Patio both on and off-stage.

Before we get into the performances, let’s take a look at just how much work was put into bringing this event together. Student Council, NHS, and Tri-M all put in hours upon hours of planning and labor to make this year’s Patio on Fire happen. From 3 PM to 9 PM, members from all three clubs converged on the Patio area and tirelessly worked to quickly set up reception and cooking areas, couches, and the technicalities of the stage for performers.

NHS members heaving an icebox, with Tri-M members in red polos and Student Council’s class representatives running here and there were common sights, and because of Tri-M’s Kimchi Fried Rice, Student Council’s dumplings and chicken nuggets, along with NHS’s drinks, there were no worries whatsoever about snacks for the audience and performers alike for the duration of the show!

Once the show got started, everyone forgot about their worries about school and life; students and teachers alike all enjoyed the beautiful music for a couple of care-free and joyful hours. With the beautiful singing of “Chasing Pavements” by Adele from Juliet Miinalainen (’17), accompanied by Grace Kim (’17) and her guitar, Patio on Fire got off to an excellent start. The singing senior pairs Hyung Joo Kim (’17) & Christina Lee (’17) and David Byeon (’17) & Mac Lee (’17) came right after, showing off the senior spirit.

PC: Various photographers

James Lee (’19) and Susan Cho (’19) followed up with a cute yet memorable performance of “Officially Missing You” by Geeks, reminding the seniors that they weren’t the only ones ready to shine. Mr. Max Fazio and Ms. Hannah Cone then performed two songs as the first teacher performance, and we all loved seeing them together having a good time on stage. Andy Cheigh (’17) then brought back the senior spirit with his explosive performance of “가시 (Thorn)” by 버즈 (Buzz).

After a 15-minute intermission (filled with even more hearty food and drinks from Tri-M, NHS, and Student Council, of course), the freshman band Monoswing – Charles Park (’20), Drew Lim (’20), Kyle Son (’20), and Jason Kim (’20) – performed “When Sunny Gets Blue” in a very unexpected yet very catchy funk feel, with Charles Park’s (’20) saxophone leading the charge. Isaac Kim (’19) then dominated the crowd with a full-out rap performance of “신기루 (Illusion)” by 씨잼 (CJamm).

Another pair of KIS Music Entertainment singers, James Lee (’19) and Sara Kim (’18), followed, brilliantly singing “Closer” by The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey. Jake Lee (’17) came back with a performance of “네 생각 (Thought of You) by 존박 (John Park), and Mr. Jack Brown, with his exceptional guitar expertise, gave the second teacher performance of the night. Sooji & The Kids – Sooji Yang (’18), Tiffany Namkoong (’18), Alice Yoo (’18), and Katie Koo (’18) – then performed “I Do Adore” by Mindy Gledhill, followed by the aptly-named Kansas Brothers, Eddie Kim (’17) and Andy Kim (’20). Stacy Jo (’17) and Alice Jo (’19) then gifted the audience with an absolutely beautiful performance of “Lullaby for a Stormy Night” by Vienna Teng.

This year’s Patio on Fire was quite a blast, possibly the best yet, and the audience came out with ear-to-ear-reaching smiles, humming the tunes they heard for two hours on a great Friday night. KIS’s tradition of Patio on Fire shows no signs of going away anytime soon, with this much talent still left on the table. We want to give HUGE props to the clubs that both set up and cleaned up the Patio area after the show, and a digital standing ovation to the performers who blew all of our troubles away! Next year’s Patio on Fire just can’t get here quick enough!